Teacher Membership

Professional Support for a Teaching Career

Music teachers encounter new questions throughout their careers. New students, repertoire, teaching settings, technologies, responsibilities, and professional goals call for continued learning, musicianship, judgment, and perspective.

Teacher Membership brings together practical teaching resources, professional learning, the Monthly Teacher Workshop, curriculum access, and a community of fellow educators who can help teachers work through those questions. Whether you are beginning your career or have decades of experience, the Association provides opportunities to strengthen your teaching, deepen your musicianship, exchange ideas, and continue developing as a music educator.

Who Teacher Membership Is For

Teacher Membership is for music educators who value ongoing professional learning, practical support, and collegial exchange. Members teach in many different settings and at many stages of their careers, but share an interest in becoming more knowledgeable musicians and educators and helping students build lasting relationships with music.

Teacher Membership welcomes music educators in the United States from a wide variety of teaching settings, including:

• Independent music teachers

• Community music school teachers

• Public school music educators

• Private school music educators

• Early childhood music teachers

• College and university instructors

• Church and worship music leaders

• Performing musicians who teach

• Retired music educators who wish to remain active in the profession

• Future music educators preparing for a career in teaching

Although members teach in many different environments and work with students of different ages, instruments, and musical interests, they share a common purpose: helping people become musical and build lasting relationships with music.

What You'll Receive

Learn

Professional learning that strengthens both teaching and musicianship.

Teacher Members have access to an expanding library of articles, videos, handouts, teaching ideas, and professional learning opportunities designed to strengthen both musicianship and teaching. Members can also learn with colleagues through regular Association programs and pursue more extensive study through courses, events, and certification.

Highlights include:

• Professional library of articles, videos, handouts, and teaching resources.

• Monthly Teacher Workshop.

• Opportunities to enroll in courses and other professional learning programs offered through the Association; separate fees may apply.

• Opportunities to attend Association conferences, workshops, and professional events; availability, registration requirements, and fees vary by event.

• Eligibility to pursue certification in the Dennis Frayne Approach to Music Education; certification tuition and requirements are separate from Teacher Membership.

Teach

Practical resources for the students you teach.

Teacher Membership provides access to curriculum, teaching materials, arrangements, and other resources that teachers can use and adapt in response to their students, teaching settings, and educational goals. These resources are intended to support teacher judgment by giving members additional options for planning lessons, selecting repertoire, reinforcing musical understanding, and responding to individual learning needs.

Highlights include:

• Eligibility to purchase the complete Presto! It’s Music Magic curriculum, available exclusively to Teacher Members of the Association. The curriculum is purchased separately from membership.

• Eligibility to offer the Dennis Frayne Ascent after meeting the Association’s participation and preparation requirements.

• Teaching materials, worksheets, printables, handouts, and curriculum supplements for use with students.

• Custom sheet music arrangements for students, subject to availability and applicable copyright and licensing requirements. Founding Members are not limited to a set number of arrangement requests during the founding phase.

Connect

A professional community for real teaching questions.

Teacher Members become part of a growing community of music educators who understand the everyday work of teaching and can learn from one another’s experience. Members can bring questions, student situations, professional decisions, and teaching challenges into conversations with colleagues who are engaged in the same work.

Highlights include:

• Private teacher community.

• Peer discussion groups and collaborative problem-solving.

• Networking and professional relationships with fellow music educators.

• Opportunities to share teaching ideas, experiences, and practical solutions.

• Opportunities to schedule individual coaching sessions when available; separate coaching fees apply.

Grow

Build a rewarding career in music education.

A long career in music education involves more than pedagogy alone. Teachers also make decisions about musicianship, leadership, communication, business, professional relationships, work-life balance, and continued learning. Teacher Membership provides resources, conversations, and professional support that help educators think about these parts of their work together and make decisions that serve both their teaching and their professional lives.

Why Dennis Frayne Association Membership Is Different

Many professional organizations provide conferences, publications, advocacy, networking opportunities, examinations, recognition programs, and other valuable resources for music teachers. Their work has strengthened the profession and continues to benefit educators in many different ways.

The Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education is designed to complement that work by placing particular emphasis on the everyday practice of teaching. The Association connects educational philosophy with the decisions teachers make in lessons, studios, classrooms, rehearsals, and throughout their professional lives.

Membership is organized around putting ideas into practice. A teacher may need help sequencing a new concept, finding repertoire for a particular student, strengthening musicianship, developing a healthier studio, working through a professional decision, or applying an educational principle in a real lesson. Resources, professional conversations, the Monthly Teacher Workshop, and other Association programs give members opportunities to examine these situations, consider possible approaches, and learn from the experience of other educators.

The goal is to help teachers connect what they believe about music education with what they actually do each day, while continuing to develop as musicians, educators, and professionals.

Ways to Participate More Deeply

Teacher Membership provides the foundation for participation in the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education. Members may pursue certification and, after meeting the applicable requirements, may qualify for Endorsed Teacher or Teacher of Teachers status.

These additional pathways are optional. Members may remain at the Teacher level while continuing to participate fully in the Association and receive Teacher Member benefits.

Teacher Membership Levels

Endorsed Teacher and Teacher of Teachers are advanced professional levels available to Teacher Members who meet the applicable requirements. Each advanced level requires a separate advanced membership subscription in addition to the underlying Teacher Membership dues.

Teacher

The Teacher level is designed for music educators who want access to Association resources, curriculum, professional learning, community, certification opportunities, and other Teacher Member benefits.

Teacher Members at this level may be uncertified, actively pursuing certification, or certified. Teacher Members may remain at this level indefinitely while continuing to participate in the Association and receive all benefits associated with Teacher Membership.

Endorsed Teacher

Endorsed Teacher is an advanced level for certified Teacher Members who meet the Association’s endorsement requirements. It provides public recognition of the teacher’s relationship with the Association and identifies educators who have completed the required preparation for endorsement.

Endorsed Teacher status is optional and requires a separate advanced membership subscription in addition to the underlying Teacher Membership.

Teacher of Teachers

Teacher of Teachers is an advanced level for experienced educators who meet the Association’s requirements for mentoring, leadership, and the professional development of other music teachers.

Teachers of Teachers may contribute to the Association through mentoring, leadership, teacher development, and other responsibilities appropriate to their experience and preparation. Teacher of Teachers status is optional and requires a separate advanced membership subscription in addition to the underlying Teacher Membership.

Teacher Membership Pricing

Every new Teacher Member begins at the Teacher level and chooses either an annual or five-year membership term.

⛰️ Founding Member Opportunity

Founding Membership recognizes the first Teacher Members who join the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education during its founding period. Founding Membership is available to Teacher Members whose membership becomes active on or before December 31, 2026, up to a maximum of 100 Founding Members.

If 100 Teacher Members join before December 31, Founding Membership will close when the 100th membership becomes active. If fewer than 100 teachers join by December 31, Founding Membership will close at the end of that day.

Founding Members establish the Founding Teacher Membership rates in effect when they join. Those annual and five-year Teacher Membership rates remain protected under the Association’s Price-for-Life Guarantee for as long as Teacher Membership remains continuously active. Full terms of the guarantee are explained in the Price-for-Life Guarantee section below.

Teacher Annual Membership

$199 (Founding Member Rate)
Future Rate: $249
(Save $50)

One-year membership term. Renews automatically each year unless cancellation is requested before the next renewal date.

Teacher Five-Year Membership

$695 (Founding Member Rate)
Future Rate: $995
(Save $300)

Prepaid five-year membership term. Renews automatically for another five-year term unless cancellation is requested before the next renewal date.

Annual and Five-Year Membership Terms

Teacher Membership is available in annual and five-year terms. Both options renew automatically at the end of the selected term unless the member requests cancellation before the next renewal date.

Teacher Annual Membership

Annual membership is active for one year and renews automatically each year on the anniversary of enrollment at the member’s applicable Teacher Membership rate.

Annual membership fees are nonrefundable once a membership term begins. Members who do not wish to renew may request cancellation by contacting the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education before the next annual renewal date. Membership remains active through the end of the current paid term.

Teacher Five-Year Membership

Five-year membership is prepaid in full for a five-year term and renews automatically at the conclusion of that term at the member’s applicable five-year Teacher Membership rate.

Five-year membership fees are nonrefundable once the membership term begins. Members who do not wish to renew may request cancellation by contacting the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education before the next five-year renewal date. Membership remains active through the end of the current paid term.

Advanced Membership Level Subscriptions

Endorsed Teacher and Teacher of Teachers are advanced professional levels available to eligible Teacher Members. Their subscription fees are separate from the underlying annual or five-year Teacher Membership dues.

Advanced membership is available in annual and monthly terms. Annual subscriptions are paid for one year in advance at a reduced rate. Monthly subscriptions provide greater flexibility and may be canceled before any future monthly renewal.

Endorsed Teacher

$1,129 annually

or

$99 per month

Teacher of Teachers

$1,699 annually

or

$149 per month

Annual and Monthly Subscription Terms

Annual advanced membership subscriptions are prepaid for one year and renew automatically each year unless cancellation is requested before the next annual renewal date. Cancellation prevents the next annual renewal; the subscription remains active through the end of the year already paid.

Monthly advanced membership subscriptions renew automatically each month unless cancellation is requested before the next monthly renewal date. Cancellation prevents the next monthly renewal; the subscription remains active through the end of the month already paid.

Changing Subscription Terms

Members may change between annual and monthly subscription terms at the beginning of a new subscription term.

For a monthly subscriber, a change may take effect at the next monthly renewal. For an annual subscriber, a change may take effect at the next annual renewal.

Changing between monthly and annual terms within the same continuously active advanced membership level does not constitute a lapse and does not, by itself, end Price-for-Life protection.

Upgrading and Downgrading Advanced Membership Levels

Members may change advanced membership levels at the beginning of a new subscription term, provided they meet the eligibility requirements for the new level. For monthly subscribers, a change may take effect at the next monthly renewal. For annual subscribers, a change may take effect at the next annual renewal.

When a Teacher Member first enters an advanced membership level, the advanced membership rates then in effect establish the member’s advanced-pricing date for purposes of the Price-for-Life Guarantee.

A member who advances from Endorsed Teacher to Teacher of Teachers while maintaining continuous advanced membership retains that advanced-pricing date. The Teacher of Teachers annual or monthly rate that was in effect when the member first entered advanced membership becomes the protected rate for the new level.

A member who moves from Teacher of Teachers to Endorsed Teacher does not return to a former protected Endorsed Teacher rate. The Endorsed Teacher annual and monthly rates in effect when the downgrade takes effect establish the member’s new protected Endorsed Teacher pricing.

Complete terms governing protected rates, changes in membership levels or subscription terms, cancellations, and lapses are provided in the Price-for-Life Guarantee.

Price-for-Life Guarantee

The Price-for-Life Guarantee protects eligible recurring Teacher Membership and advanced membership rates established with the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education. When a teacher first joins, the annual and five-year Teacher Membership rates then in effect become that member’s protected Teacher Membership rates.

If the member later enters an advanced membership level, the annual and monthly advanced membership rates then in effect establish the member’s protected advanced pricing. A member who later advances from Endorsed Teacher to Teacher of Teachers while maintaining continuous advanced membership may use the Teacher of Teachers rates that were in effect when advanced membership originally began. Changing between monthly and annual terms within the same continuously active advanced level does not end Price-for-Life protection.

A member who moves from Teacher of Teachers back to Endorsed Teacher does not return to a former protected Endorsed Teacher rate. The current Endorsed Teacher rates in effect when the downgrade takes effect become the member’s new protected rates. If a protected Teacher Membership or advanced membership subscription lapses, its previous protected pricing ends, and the rates in effect when that membership or subscription is later resumed become the new protected rates.

The guarantee applies only to eligible recurring Teacher Membership and advanced membership rates. It does not apply to certification tuition, courses, private coaching, conferences or other events, curriculum and teaching materials, publications and products, shipping and handling, Dennis Frayne Ascent submission and review fees, or other separately purchased programs or services.

For complete terms and examples, please review the Price-for-Life Guarantee.

Apply to Join

If Teacher Membership sounds like a good fit for your teaching and professional goals, we invite you to apply to join the Dennis Frayne Association for Music Education.

Complete the Teacher Membership application to tell us about your teaching and professional background. If your application is approved, we will contact you to confirm your membership details and arrange payment.

Apply for Teacher Membership